sister2paris
03-27-2006, 11:05 AM
TOKYO (AFP) - Ayako Koshino, a Japanese fashion designer whose three daughters have risen to international fame and whose own career spanned from the kimono to the boom in Western clothes, has died at age 92.
Koshino, who still lived in her hometown of Kishiwada near the western metropolis Osaka, suffered a stroke and died early Sunday, her family said.
Koshino, who was born in June 1913, raised her three daughters alone as a working single mother after her husband, Takeichi, fought and died in World War II.
Her three daughters -- Hiroko, Junko and Michiko -- all followed her into design and rose to global prominence.
Michiko, her youngest daughter, moved to Britain to distinguish herself from her sisters and launched the Michiko London label, which has proven a favorite on the club music scene.
Ayako was born to a family that made kimonos, Japan's traditional tightly-wrapped, multi-layered robes, but first found fashion profitable designing Western clothes for women in the boom after World War II.
She remained active even in her 90s, designing clothes for older people in the Osaka region.
In one of her last interviews, she told AFP in February that she wanted to stay in the business -- and in Kishiwada -- as long as she could.
"I want to die as a designer. I have done and will do whatever I want to do. If I have a chance to be born again, I bet I will choose this job," she said.
Speaking in her modern studio renovated last year, the sprightly Koshino, who looked much younger than her age, said she felt a friendly sense of competition with her more famous daughters, who grew up watching her sew.
"I'm trying to make something better than my daughters' work," she said, wearing a sequin-studded blouse she made herself.
"I'm always telling them, 'Come on, sis. You'll never beat me'."
Close family members will gather for a funeral on Tuesday, with a larger farewell ceremony to be organized on April 28 in Osaka, her office said.
"She had been working as usual, although she was hospitalized as her health condition had deteriorated a little bit. So we were surprised" by her sudden death, an employee of Koshino's office said.
When Koshino first entered the fashion world, few Japanese designers were making dresses for women so she started at age 16 at a company making men's underwear.
While initially she rebelled against the kimono, seeing it as an obstacle to women's liberation, Koshino later said that Japanese attire had naturally influenced her and her daughters.
"Hiroko, Junko and Michiko are Japanese no matter how they work in the global arena. Like me, they have consciously or unconsciously been influenced by the environment of the traditional Japanese lifestyle," she said in the AFP interview.
But unlike her British-based youngest daughter, the elder Koshino was repelled by scant attire.
"Models are nearly naked on the runway at any fashion show these days," she said. "Who wants to wear such clothes? At least I don't. You have to design clothes considering who wears them. Fashion appears to be at a standstill."
"Fashion should not be fluid but somehow eternal. Fashion is something which springs from inside your heart naturally. So it is supposed to be stable and solid, not flip-flop," she said.
In her 90s, she said she wanted to make clothes for elderly people who are usually ignored by designers.
"The tip to stay young is to wear good clothes and feel good when you're in love," she said.
"Hey, look at me. I'm putting on a cool jacket and enjoying days and nights with my 90 boyfriends," Koshino joked.
http://upload4.postimage.org/82059/mkoshinoSS06B.jpg (http://upload4.postimage.org/82059/photo_hosting.html)
Koshino, who still lived in her hometown of Kishiwada near the western metropolis Osaka, suffered a stroke and died early Sunday, her family said.
Koshino, who was born in June 1913, raised her three daughters alone as a working single mother after her husband, Takeichi, fought and died in World War II.
Her three daughters -- Hiroko, Junko and Michiko -- all followed her into design and rose to global prominence.
Michiko, her youngest daughter, moved to Britain to distinguish herself from her sisters and launched the Michiko London label, which has proven a favorite on the club music scene.
Ayako was born to a family that made kimonos, Japan's traditional tightly-wrapped, multi-layered robes, but first found fashion profitable designing Western clothes for women in the boom after World War II.
She remained active even in her 90s, designing clothes for older people in the Osaka region.
In one of her last interviews, she told AFP in February that she wanted to stay in the business -- and in Kishiwada -- as long as she could.
"I want to die as a designer. I have done and will do whatever I want to do. If I have a chance to be born again, I bet I will choose this job," she said.
Speaking in her modern studio renovated last year, the sprightly Koshino, who looked much younger than her age, said she felt a friendly sense of competition with her more famous daughters, who grew up watching her sew.
"I'm trying to make something better than my daughters' work," she said, wearing a sequin-studded blouse she made herself.
"I'm always telling them, 'Come on, sis. You'll never beat me'."
Close family members will gather for a funeral on Tuesday, with a larger farewell ceremony to be organized on April 28 in Osaka, her office said.
"She had been working as usual, although she was hospitalized as her health condition had deteriorated a little bit. So we were surprised" by her sudden death, an employee of Koshino's office said.
When Koshino first entered the fashion world, few Japanese designers were making dresses for women so she started at age 16 at a company making men's underwear.
While initially she rebelled against the kimono, seeing it as an obstacle to women's liberation, Koshino later said that Japanese attire had naturally influenced her and her daughters.
"Hiroko, Junko and Michiko are Japanese no matter how they work in the global arena. Like me, they have consciously or unconsciously been influenced by the environment of the traditional Japanese lifestyle," she said in the AFP interview.
But unlike her British-based youngest daughter, the elder Koshino was repelled by scant attire.
"Models are nearly naked on the runway at any fashion show these days," she said. "Who wants to wear such clothes? At least I don't. You have to design clothes considering who wears them. Fashion appears to be at a standstill."
"Fashion should not be fluid but somehow eternal. Fashion is something which springs from inside your heart naturally. So it is supposed to be stable and solid, not flip-flop," she said.
In her 90s, she said she wanted to make clothes for elderly people who are usually ignored by designers.
"The tip to stay young is to wear good clothes and feel good when you're in love," she said.
"Hey, look at me. I'm putting on a cool jacket and enjoying days and nights with my 90 boyfriends," Koshino joked.
http://upload4.postimage.org/82059/mkoshinoSS06B.jpg (http://upload4.postimage.org/82059/photo_hosting.html)